The Swiss Army Card Knife Kit has it all. It only weighs 25.5 grams and contains; knife blade, scissors, pin, screwdriver, tweezers, toothpick, ballpoint pen, ruler and light. It is a very useful tool. Just be careful not to loose any of the pieces.

...please read the earlier posts on this thread---the Swiss Army Card Knife Kit, AKA the Swiss Card was mentioned several times.What was not mentioned was the Tool Logic Credit Card Companion---http://www.toollogic.com/cc1.htmwhich might be worth snagging just for the knife and the itsy bitsy tiny emergency compass. The whole kit is 1.3 oz. but looks worth cannibalizing.There are several versions inc. ones with scissors and led lights, as well.

The SwissCards blade is comparable to the Classic's blade in strength. The tang goes about 1/2 inch into the plastic.I would only use it for light duty cutting, it would not stand up to abuse. The tang would come loose from the plastic.It was not sharp when I got it, It would not cut hair or paper. The blade's bevel was very uneven. I had to sharpen it.

The blade, pin and stick pin come in the handest. I carry it in my wallet.

That Tool Logic Credit Card Companion I mentioned...Not as elegant as the Swiss Card and several of the tools look worthless---although you do get a UL means for opening up that tin of smoked oysters or that on-the-trail brewski #-) --- but theknife looks superior.

Hey guys and gals. I'm new to the sight and this is my first forum post. Love the articles and discussions. Also, I'm a big fan of your books, Mike.

I'm in outdoor education, and I just can't tell my students to go without a knife. I always carry one and like Mike, which knife depends on the nature and length of a particular trip. I don't carry a silly Rambo sized sticker and I'm secure with the size of my manhood, But I will carry something. My dad was an expert woodsman, and I was taught to always carry something, so I will. Besides, when hiking in Europe, you need a tool with a corkscrew in it!

I do like the idea of the swiss scissors. In fact, I have a classic with a damaged case, so I'm going to extract the tiny scissors for my blister kit. Thanks for the tip!

For those of you who go without, more power to you. You have my respect.

After reading this thought provoking article, I decided to take a razor blade and skip the knife on my last trip. I forgot the razor. Did not realize until after I returned and saw it just setting on the table looking rather sad.

But I did still take a small pair of sewing scissors that I got at Targets for real cheap last year. They fold up. Weight is about 1/2 oz.

I also had tweezers that were hiding with my bandaids. They are about .5 oz.

For one oz, scissors and tweezers seem reasonable to me. And I will add the razor blade with paper case next time.

Will add a knife back when I take my Bushbuddy. Otherwise, it will stay home.

I kind of agree with Daniel on this one. I loved Mike's story- I think every point is completely valid...but I still carry a decent sized knife (currently a Benchmade Pika at almost 3oz). I'm not sure I even used it much on my last extended trip, but that's neither here nor there to me- it's one piece of gear that I see as tradition and simply like to have. As a huge fan of early (like ~50,000 BCE) human culture and knowing how much time was spent in the development of specialized cutting tools, I kind of figure I owe it to my ancestors to carry something decent :) There's ample evidence that many of those poor chaps developed arthritic conditions in the jaw and wore their teeth down to stumps without blades. I don't want stump teeth. Maybe it is some trace Neantdertal/cross-species/ancient DNA in me, but I can't resist sharp shiny metal...even though I know it's not all that necessary anymore.

.... in the footsteps of our ancestors, the last great flowering of paleolithic tools created a host of bladed artifacts that only got smaller.One of the chief characteristics of the late "stone age" toolkit was the microlith or microblade. Microblades are small stone (obsidian, quartz, etc.) flakes less than 1 1/4 inches long, with a sharp edge and a "backed" or blunted edge that could be guided with the index finger to sever meat from a carcass.Well, what do you know----ancient SUL razorblades!

And from what I understand, it wasn't just to make the actual tool smaller, but to make the whole process more efficient...Upper Paleolithic tool makers focused on the blade, gravitating away from the general-purpose (and much larger) hand ax favored by the Neandertal:

"...from a pound of flint, the Upper Paleolithic blade technique could produce 305-1219 centimeters of cutting edge whereas the early Mousterian technique could produce only 102 centimeters." (F. Bordes- "The Old Stone Age")

Victor Swiss Army Bantam weighs only 35 grams. Opens bottles, cans, pouches, blisters, cavities, The tweezers are the best tick removal tool that I know of bar none. Cuts food well too. The main blade is also good for piercing eggs prior to hard boiling (gull,chicken,goose etc.)

Re: larger knives and multitools have a place....
on 06/10/2007 08:14:10 MDT

My everyday utility knife is a small pocket clip knife that weighs 1.8 oz. Usually a spyderco delica (serated)or a benchmade axis 530 (half serated). Both have about 3" blades and can be opened one handed and are quite sturdy. I say usually, because as a gear freak I collect shiny things, and knives score very high on the trinket index.

Since I have one with me on the drive to the trail head, usually there is the last minute, what the hey, an extra 2 ounces won't kill me and I hate reaching for something habitually and finding it missing (That explains the beer holster on my mall ninja utility belt as well).

Thus it gets taken along most times. I've never 'needed' the bigger blade, but for the first night's meal of frozen tenderloins and for prepping fresh veggies it's nice to have a real knife for a real meal.

Hi, I'm Neil and I'm a reformed trad backpacker. Last week I backslid three times, and had to call my sponsor for support.